When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
With a long weekend of Vappu celebrations and sun behind us, no one plans a trip to amusement park on the Sunday when the forecast promises rain.
Except us.
And it came together perfectly: the weather stayed clear, the rides were practically empty and, best of all, the girls had finally passed the next height limit, which opened up a whole host of new rides.
To use girls’ own words: ” Everything was the best!”.
I stepped out of the office today and realized I have forgotten the culmination of Vappu (May Day) in Helsinki: Mantan Lakitus.
It is a dramatized placing of a Finnish matriculation hat on Havis Amanda, the statue in Helsinki harbor, by one of the university student unions. So naturally, tens of thousands of people come every year to see it. This year, the weather was fine, so the event gathered 80,000 people to Market Square.
The last time I participated was when I was a student myself. So, as the time was almost right, I decided to go and take some photos.
I gave up before I even saw Havis Amanda in the distance.
Too crowded.
The overalls are the “official” party outfits for university students. Each student union has it’s own color and you are not, for example, allowed to use it after graduation. It may sound stupid, but it is one of the things I miss the most from my student days…
Train travel in Finland is incredibly comfortable and, in many instances, very convenient. But as it feels awkward to start taking photos in a train carriage, you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Instead, I took a few shots at the Helsinki railway station. At a first glance, it is a quite a modest building. In fact, as I never eat at the station, I passed through the building a hundred times before properly looking around. Especially the restaurants in the old section are gorgeous Art Nouveau. Not something you expect from such a small railway station.
The metro tunnel underneath, less so.
Dogs are welcome in our office, so there are often furry visitors – big and small. Surprisingly often, there are kids as well, although typically only for an hour or two.
I have never yet seen a cat in the office. Or a parrot.
Blue Moment 